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Public Lands

The NEPA Amendments in Nine Blog Posts

Surveying the legal problems of the biggest NEPA changes in the past fifty years.

On June 5, President Biden signed the debt ceiling bill, which provides the first significant rewrite of NEPA since it was passed over fifty years ago. In a series of blog posts, I’ve explored some of the legal issues raised by the amendments. My goal has been highlighting problem areas rather than providing anything like …

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Nature and the Pursuit of Happiness

The original understanding of an inalienable right.

What is the “pursuit of happiness,” which the Declaration of Independence says is an inalienable right? It sounds like this is about freedom from governmental restrictions on your activities. So, in modern terms, it seemed to mean that the government can’t stop you from “doing your own thing.” But that can’t be right. The Declaration …

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NEPA 2.0 and Transmission Projects

Will the new NEPA provisions speed approval of urgently needed projects?

In terms of the energy transition, the most important question about the recent NEPA amendments is whether they streamline permitting for transmission projects. The answer is complicated. We can divide transmission projects into two groups. The first group consists of transmission projects where federal involvement is limited to specific segments, such as stream crossings requiring …

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Having the Fox Guard the Henhouse?

Delegating Environmental Reviews to Project Sponsors

One of the most important provisions, of the new NEPA law, § 107(f), allows the lead agency to delegate preparation of environmental reviews to project applicants. There are unsettled questions about when this provision applies and how it interfaces with other parts of NEPA. There are clear conflicts of interest in assigning this role to …

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Centralizing Environmental Reviews under NEPA’s New Section 107

Sec. 107 is the key permitting reform applying to major projects. Will it work?

The 2023 Amendments to NEPA tweak current regulations in various ways in the name of permitting reform. Those changes make it easier to exempt smaller projects or cover them with programmatic impacts statements. The key issue, however, is going to be the effectiveness of new section 107, the main provision aimed at large-scale projects like …

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NEPA and the Debt Deal

Will the permitting sections of the debt ceiling bill undermine environmental reviews?

Prior to the release of the text of the debt ceiling bill Sunday night, press reports had mentioned only a couple of provisions relating to environmental impact statements. It turns out there’s a lot more. The bill would make numerous changes in the statute governing impact statements, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). …

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Critical Native American Water Rights Cases Come Before the Supreme Court: Arizona v. Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation Has the Equities on Its Side, But the U.S. Department of the Interior May Well Have the Law in Its Favor

Today the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the last natural resources cases on its docket this Term: Arizona v. Navajo Nation and U.S. Department of the Interior v. Navajo Nation. These consolidated cases are consequential for several reasons: to determine the scope of the federal government’s trust obligations to Native American tribes; to …

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Did Biden have to approve the Willow oil project?

Northeast National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

ConocoPhillips has existing lease rights. But the Biden administration had tools to curtail those rights to limit harms.

Although the Biden administration has approved the Willow oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope—the largest proposed oil drilling on U.S. public land in several decades—the legal questions are far from settled. Much of the media coverage so far has focused on the political dynamics driving the decision (as noted with some alarm here and …

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ 10 Most Important Environmental Law Decisions of 2022

Climate Change, Water Rights, Environmental Justice & Federalism Issues Highlighted the Ninth Circuit’s Prodigious Environmental Docket This Year

I’ve shared in previous posts my view that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is–after the U.S. Supreme Court–the most influential court in the nation when it comes to environmental and natural resources law. That’s true for two related reasons: first, the sprawling Ninth Circuit encompasses nine different states (including California) and …

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Wasting Gas

A proposed rule limiting flaring and venting of natural gas is a win for everyone except greedy oil and gas operators.

Yesterday, the Interior Department posted a proposed rule to limit flaring and venting of natural gas on public lands. The rule will be good for everyone except the oil and gas operators who waste the gas, increasing methane and carbon emissions while giving the public nothing in return. The rule is clearly a step in …

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What’s a Major Question? Opinions differ.

Scholars don’t know the answer. Nor, apparently, do the federal courts of appeals.

No, There’s No Scientific Conspiracy About Climate Change

Anyone who thinks otherwise has never met a real live academic. We can barely conspire about where to eat lunch.

A Summer Job, Record Heat, Climate Hope

Guest contributor Mollie Cueva-Dabkoski reflects on working as a summer law intern at Our Children’s Trust on the Held v. Montana case.

California is Suing Big Oil Thanks to Journalism

California’s climate and consumer protection lawsuit against Big Oil was made possible by the past work of journalists. What’s the state of climate journalism now?

Action on Methane

California’s Subnational Initiative

A Radical Proposal Hidden in Plain Sight in the Overshoot Commission Report

The Commission’s recommendations on emissions include a fossil phaseout much stronger than anything now proposed, which could materially advance climate action.

Predictions of IRA’s Success Solidify

IRA’s early impacts have been dramatic, and there’s a consensus that it will bend the US emissions curve downward.

Angry About Stalled Progress on Fossil Fuels? Biden’s Not the Culprit.

Sorry, no president can single-handedly fix climate policy. And certainly not with this Supreme Court.

Why is there a Carrot Boycott in Cuyama Valley?

Small farmers and rural residents are calling for a boycott against Bolthouse and Grimmway Farms. Here’s what it says about California’s effort to manage groundwater.

The Climate Overshoot Commission Releases its Report

A dozen global leaders weigh in on the risk of exceeding the Paris temperature targets and what it means for climate response.

Upcoming Regulatory Cases in the Supreme Court

Two pending cases could result in big cuts to agency powers

Income-Based Electric Bills: Fact and Fiction

California is in the process of making income-graduated fixed rates a part of ratepayers’ electric bills. This is the first post in a series that follows that proceeding.

California is Suing Big Oil Thanks to Journalism

California’s climate and consumer protection lawsuit against Big Oil was made possible by the past work of journalists. What’s the state of climate journalism now?

Is Capitalism to Blame?

Some people think we need to abolish capitalism to save the environment.

Predictions of IRA’s Success Solidify

IRA’s early impacts have been dramatic, and there’s a consensus that it will bend the US emissions curve downward.

Angry About Stalled Progress on Fossil Fuels? Biden’s Not the Culprit.

Sorry, no president can single-handedly fix climate policy. And certainly not with this Supreme Court.

Why is there a Carrot Boycott in Cuyama Valley?

Small farmers and rural residents are calling for a boycott against Bolthouse and Grimmway Farms. Here’s what it says about California’s effort to manage groundwater.

Public Lands

Surveying the legal problems of the biggest NEPA changes in the past fifty years.

The original understanding of an inalienable right.

Will the new NEPA provisions speed approval of urgently needed projects?

Delegating Environmental Reviews to Project Sponsors

Sec. 107 is the key permitting reform applying to major projects. Will it work?

Will the permitting sections of the debt ceiling bill undermine environmental reviews?

The Navajo Nation Has the Equities on Its Side, But the U.S. Department of the Interior May Well Have the Law in Its Favor

ConocoPhillips has existing lease rights. But the Biden administration had tools to curtail those rights to limit harms.

Climate Change, Water Rights, Environmental Justice & Federalism Issues Highlighted the Ninth Circuit’s Prodigious Environmental Docket This Year

A proposed rule limiting flaring and venting of natural gas is a win for everyone except greedy oil and gas operators.

TRENDING

Scholars don’t know the answer. Nor, apparently, do the federal courts of appeals.

Anyone who thinks otherwise has never met a real live academic. We can barely conspire about where to eat lunch.

Guest contributor Mollie Cueva-Dabkoski reflects on working as a summer law intern at Our Children’s Trust on the Held v. Montana case.

California’s climate and consumer protection lawsuit against Big Oil was made possible by the past work of journalists. What’s the state of climate journalism now?

California’s Subnational Initiative

The Commission’s recommendations on emissions include a fossil phaseout much stronger than anything now proposed, which could materially advance climate action.

IRA’s early impacts have been dramatic, and there’s a consensus that it will bend the US emissions curve downward.

Sorry, no president can single-handedly fix climate policy. And certainly not with this Supreme Court.

Small farmers and rural residents are calling for a boycott against Bolthouse and Grimmway Farms. Here’s what it says about California’s effort to manage groundwater.

A dozen global leaders weigh in on the risk of exceeding the Paris temperature targets and what it means for climate response.

Two pending cases could result in big cuts to agency powers

California is in the process of making income-graduated fixed rates a part of ratepayers’ electric bills. This is the first post in a series that follows that proceeding.

California’s climate and consumer protection lawsuit against Big Oil was made possible by the past work of journalists. What’s the state of climate journalism now?

Some people think we need to abolish capitalism to save the environment.

IRA’s early impacts have been dramatic, and there’s a consensus that it will bend the US emissions curve downward.

Sorry, no president can single-handedly fix climate policy. And certainly not with this Supreme Court.

Small farmers and rural residents are calling for a boycott against Bolthouse and Grimmway Farms. Here’s what it says about California’s effort to manage groundwater.

A dozen global leaders weigh in on the risk of exceeding the Paris temperature targets and what it means for climate response.

SB 261 first proposed and drafted by CLEE Climate Risk Initiative

Three big cases in the D.C. Circuit will determine the fate of Biden’s vehicle regulations.